Grundisburgh, Woodbridge

Ripe for refurbishment, we are excited to present this Grade II listed wonderful family home, with four generous bedrooms and four reception rooms, all full of original character features to provide inspiration. Nestled in an idyllic, vibrant village setting, you can experience true country living plus you are just three miles from the bustling town of Woodbridge, with rail links to London.

Owned by the same family since 1933 this is a true family home where lives have been forever shaped by this wonderful country residence. The timber framed lathe and plaster farmhouse was renovated in the 60's and 70's when the house was stripped back to its original features revealing Tudor panelling with the original Tudor screens passage, ancient ceiling beams, mullioned windows and handsome inglenook fireplaces. Amazingly all the rooms have full height ceilings apart from one quirky room from kitchen to drawing room which still has the original door. This happy home is now in need of further renovation and awaits its new custodian to write the next piece of its history.

Step Inside
The front door leads to a small entrance hall with stairs straight ahead. This door is seldom used, as a more practical entrance is from the side of the house through the quarry tiled lobby with cloakroom/utility room to your right. The kitchen comes next with gorgeous fireplace now housing the Rayburn and storage. With tiled flooring, it leads to the office with a bank of mullioned windows - this was once the dairy, but could be a great extension to the kitchen, subject to planning. Off the office space is a walk-in pantry - every cook's dream. On the other side of the kitchen a doorway leads to the dual aspect sitting room with parquet flooring, fireplace with a wood burner and quaint library space - a comfortable and cosy room. Past the central stairs is the formal dining room, with original brick floor and windows both to the east and west making this a wonderful light space and large enough for a table for ten plus armchairs by the huge brick fireplace. The dining room leads to the expansive triple aspect drawing room with French doors to the garden, allowing guests to spill out to the lawns in summer. Again, an original fireplace features with a warm wooden floor. This whole ground floor offers a history lesson, with ancient beams stretching across the ceilings, Tudor panels, Inglenook fireplaces and flooring where so many have walked before.

Quintessentially English From Dawn Til Dusk
A sunrise to the front of the farmhouse, offering beautiful views across the wildflower meadow to Burgh and Clopton churches, accompanied by the sound of church bells on Sundays, is a fabulous way to start the day. The house is cool in summer, with the large door from the drawing room allowing airflow through the house. Anniversaries and birthdays have been celebrated here - you can just imagine the house and gardens full to the brim with guests spilling out onto the lawns and children playing in the meadow. With roaring fires in many of the rooms, the house is so welcoming in the cooler months too - with Holly and Ivy from the garden plus twinkling fairy lights garlanding the beams, Christmas is magical here. The cosiest room is the small sitting room with wood burner, a wonderful place to snuggle down with a good book. Of course, the kitchen with its Rayburn is where everyone can congregate on a cold winters day with dogs curled up on the hearth rug. The dining room offers space for large family dinners and even has space for armchairs either side of the fire, for that traditional after dinner brandy. At the end of the day when the sun sets to the rear of the house, glimpsed through the avenue of ancient lime trees and walnut trees beyond, the tranquillity envelopes you for a peaceful night's sleep.

Exploring Upstairs
This house is full of quirky features and the ladder leading from the office to a huge room, once the playroom, separated into two by beautiful, exposed beams, does not disappoint. Stairs could be installed here perhaps making this a guest or master suite with access to plumbing from the utility room and kitchen below. The central stairs take you to a traditional long landing, with space for the perfect "book nook" or home office. From the landing all four generous bedrooms, some with exposed beams and so much character, along with the family bathroom are found. The bedroom at the far end has beautiful vista over lime trees to the back gardens and has a washbasin for convenience. Next is a gorgeous bright room with large window, sink and storage space and then the smallest bedroom with wash basin and feature brick fireplace wall running through. Both these rooms enjoy stunning views across the wildflower meadow to the church. The large bedroom at the end is next to the centrally placed family bathroom and has built in cupboards providing opportunity to add a shower room, perhaps ensuite. The loft space is also accessible and could be used for further accommodation, a quiet working from home office maybe, or a teens lounge.

Step Outside
The grounds to the house measure approximately 1.5 acres and include formal gardens, a pretty courtyard made from original York stones taken from the barn, orchard, veggie space and space to play cricket and tennis on the lawn. The garden was always very productive with a large veggie plot and greenhouse. The owners would grow an array of produce including potatoes, onions, leeks, broccoli, and runner beans to fill the freezer for winter, so this is the perfect place for green-fingered enthusiasts. The orchard to the side has a variety of fruit trees including eating and cooking apples, eating and cooking pears, plum, greengage and wonderful cobnut and walnut trees. The house has two ponds, one now dry, and these could be reinstated to create the kind of childhood of days gone by - building dens and making rafts to float on the pond. By the pond, at the back of the house, are substantial brick foundations, the remains of a large building from 1857, that could easily be reinstated as an annex subject to planning. The gardens attract plenty of wildlife including Mallards, Muntjac deer, hares, rabbits and pheasants which are often seen strolling across the lawn. The wildflower meadow to the front has been thirty years in the making at approximately 3.5 acres, and displays a plethora of wildflowers throughout the spring and summer months - cowslips, ox eye daisies, buttercups, pyramid and bee orchids, cornflowers, pimpernel, chicory to name just a few. All this in one property which is situated at the end of a no through lane which turns into a bridle way, making it a safe area for children and animals to roam. The bridle way with ditches full of primroses in the spring and dog violets on its banks is just one of many walks straight from the house, through the Suffolk countryside.

On The Doorstep
Whilst feeling blissfully remote, the house is set in Grundisburgh, a vibrant welcoming village offering something for everyone. With shop, post office, coffee shop, pub, school, new village hall, church, doctors' surgery and no less than 36 clubs and societies, you have just about everything you need day to day. The popular town of Woodbridge is only three miles away, known for its independent shops, sailing on the River Deben and well-regarded secondary schools so you can stay well connected.